{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,22]],"date-time":"2026-09-22T13:21:37Z","timestamp":1790083297843,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1727654400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1727654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Med"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is commonly used in clinical settings to assess the severity of alcohol-related problems, with the effectiveness of alcohol reduction interventions varying across this spectrum. In a recent study, we demonstrated that a 12-week intervention involving the provision of free non-alcoholic beverages reduced alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers for up to 8 weeks post-intervention. However, it remains unclear whether this effect was consistent across different AUDIT score ranges. Therefore, this secondary analysis aimed to examine whether the severity of alcohol-related problems, as indicated by AUDIT scores, influences the effectiveness of non-alcoholic beverage provision in reducing alcohol consumption.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This was a single-center, open-label, randomized, parallel-group study. Participants were Japanese individuals who frequently consumed large quantities of alcohol (at least 40 g\/day for men and 20 g\/day for women) but were not diagnosed with alcohol dependence. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group. The intervention group received free non-alcoholic beverages once every 4 weeks over a 12-week period (24 bottles of 350 mL per case, up to three cases per session, for a total of three sessions). Alcohol and non-alcoholic beverage consumption over the previous 4 weeks was tracked using a drinking diary. For this secondary analysis, participants were categorized into four groups based on their AUDIT scores (group 1:\u2009\u2264\u20097 points, group 2: 8\u201311 points, group 3: 12\u201314 points, and group 4:\u2009\u2265\u200915 points), and changes in alcohol consumption were compared across these groups in both the intervention and control participants.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The provision of non-alcoholic beverages significantly increased non-alcoholic beverage consumption in all groups. However, alcohol consumption was significantly reduced in the intervention groups compared to controls only in groups 1\u20133. The reduction in alcohol consumption was less pronounced in groups 3 and 4 compared to group 1 (both,<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&lt;\u20090.05). Importantly, the provision of non-alcoholic beverages did not lead to an increase in alcohol consumption, even among individuals with higher AUDIT scores.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>These findings suggest that individuals with higher AUDIT scores may experience a reduced benefit from a 12-week non-alcoholic beverage intervention in terms of alcohol consumption reduction. Nevertheless, this intervention appears to be a safe and effective strategy for reducing alcohol consumption in heavy drinkers who do not have alcohol dependence.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Trial registration<\/jats:title><jats:p>UMIN UMIN000047949. Registered 4 June 2022.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12916-024-03641-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T00:01:28Z","timestamp":1727654488000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["The effectiveness of reduction in alcohol consumption achieved by the provision of non-alcoholic beverages associates with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Shohei","family":"Dobashi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kyoko","family":"Kawaida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Go","family":"Saito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yukiko","family":"Owaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hisashi","family":"Yoshimoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"3641_CR1","volume-title":"AUDIT: the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: guidelines for use in primary health care","author":"F Babor","year":"2001","unstructured":"Babor F, Higgins-Biddle JC, Saunders JB, Monteiro MG. 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Study planning and conduct, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript were performed only by the investigators, independently of Asahi Breweries, under the supervision and instruction of the University of Tsukuba. Transparency and neutrality were strictly maintained during the conduct of the study. S.D., K.K., G.S., and Y.O. declare that they have no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"424"}}